Quoting Evo2Me:

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Quoting mdnitoil:

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[...] less cheap (free) competition can only be good for Profiler.

That's the new paradigm in economics: Less competition is better? Would explain a lot ...

By definition, free alternatives are not competition. To compete with a business such as Invelos, one must operate a business, not give away free merchandise. How well do you think DVDSpot would have done against DVD Profiler if people had to pay for it?

Quoting EPKJ:

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DVD Profiler is now, and always has been the best DVD database available. This is not even debatable. The program speaks for itself. I have never understood how anyone could prefer any of the other currently available alternatives. They are all inferior.

DVD Profiler is my favorite of course.  But I can understand how someone would prefer one of the other options.

1) They're free
2) They display your online collection much better than DVD Profiler.  At least I prefer them.  It's much easier to browse someone's collection since you see a whole page of thumbnails at once rather than just titles.
3) They're web based.  I prefer the client software myself, but there is something to be said for being able to update your collection from any place with an internet connection.
4) DVD Spot (and previously GuzzleFish) had really nice statistics built in.  DVD Profiler is weak in that area unless you download my plug-in (see my signature ).  Unfortunately, the casual user who doesn't visit this site knows nothing about plug-ins and don't realize it's an option.

Like I said, I prefer this software.  But let's not pretend it's perfect and everything else is rubbish.

Can anybody point me to information on the export format? BulkEdit already imports CollectorZ and DVDProfiler XML. CSV import is nearing completion.

Wish I had known about that site - It would been a higher priority  . The goal would be a way to quickly load personal information and box set organization into DVD Profiler. Then just "refresh" and done.

Alternative: somebody (else) could write a little tool that would translate DVD Spot export output into DVD Profiler XML (or maybe it already is ...).

Quoting mediadogg:

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Can anybody point me to information on the export format? BulkEdit already imports CollectorZ and DVDProfiler XML. CSV import is nearing completion.

Wish I had known about that site - It would been a higher priority  . The goal would be a way to quickly load personal information and box set organization into DVD Profiler. Then just "refresh" and done.

Alternative: somebody (else) could write a little tool that would translate DVD Spot export output into DVD Profiler XML (or maybe it already is ...).

I'd say your best bet is to go over there, create an account, add a few profiles, then export it and see what you get.  Should only take about 10 minutes.

In my opinion, Ken should automatically bump you to at least 2 stars if you can come up with an easy migration option for these soon to be homeless collectors!

Quoting FredLooks:

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The export format is a zipped CSV file, with first row of:

upc,title,custom_title_sort,rating,review,source,price,owned,owned_date,owned_custom,watched,watched_date

I'm uncertain of the semantics of the fields, but I could experiment for you if you'd like ...

Much obliged partner!    Edit: I sent you a PM with some specific items of info that I need ...

Let us know what you find out. Is that really all they put out? If so, it will be a snap.

Only need to capture the UPC and create purchase info, source = retailer for the purchase I guess, and create a Watched Event. Then a refresh will add all the good stuff.

Quoting xradman:

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They are afraid of Skip and I can't say that I blame them.  Looking at their forum, their mean age seem much younger than DVDP, so it may not mesh well.

How did you come to this conclusion?

Oh boy, our Skip is a celebrity! 

Quoting Mark Harrison:

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Quoting mediadogg:

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(That being said, I don't want to shut anybody else out ... the format seems simple enough - if one of the many super scripters out there wants to pitch in ... there are lots of stars (and work) to go around, I think ...)

Edit: Mark, I considered that. But I can use the help that has been offered. Always nice to have a team effort ...

I'm busy with other things lately, but I'd be happy to help as much as possible if you need it.

Cool. I PM'ed FredLooks with some questions for his research. Based on your experience with CVS Export, it would be helpful if you could take a look at the data format and pass along any ideas / recommendations. Also, I'm hitting a couple of bugs in the CVS Import that I will PM you about - once stable, it should be a simple matter to tweak it to include the DVDSpot format.